A Little Book of Strange Tales

By Richard Hinchliffe

A Little Book of Strange Tales is a collection of stories and rhymes to send a shiver down your spine. Journey with us from the coldest reaches of Outer Space to the blistering heat of the burning pits of Hell in this little collection of unsettling weirdness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brindle Books Ltd
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781739864828

Book preview

A Little Book of Strange Tales

By

Richard Hinchliffe

Brindle Books Ltd

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Copyright © 2022 by Richard Hinchliffe

This edition published by

Brindle Books Ltd

Unit 3, Grange House

Grange Street

Wakefield

United Kingdom

WF2 8TF

Copyright © Brindle Books Ltd 2022

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The right of Richard Hinchliffe to be identified as author of this work

has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,

Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 978-1-7398648-2-8

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise without the prior permission of

the Copyright holder.

All of the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Contents

Introduction

The Summer of the Ant War

Beady Eye

Siren Song

Time Ended

The Unhappy Courtship

Time Continued

Where There’s Hope

The Co-operative

The Last Bus

Vermin

If your name’s not down, you’re not coming in

Introduction

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I’ve always loved short stories, especially the strange ones. I remember, as a child, being transfixed whilst watching ‘The Outer Limits’, ‘The Twilight Zone’, or the Hammer horror anthology movies.

As I grew older, the necessity of having to perform mundane work to earn my living meant that I could no longer spend my evenings in front of the television. As a result, I began to spend a portion of my free time dreaming up my own stories.

Thinking up your own tales gives you the opportunity to drift off and explore other dimensions. You can find yourself in all sorts of places; from a little diner on a deserted country road, as in ‘The Last Bus’, to the far reaches of space with the main protagonist of ‘Where there’s Hope’.

This little collection of stories explores all sorts of unusual places and the strange, sometimes sinister, events that unfold there.

I hope that you have as much fun reading these tales as I did writing them.

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Richard Hinchliffe

The Summer of the Ant War

Robbie squinted against the bright July sun and noticed that the two soldiers at the head of the column had paused, sensing danger. Then he marvelled at their courage as, without waiting for their comrades, they charged forward to engage the enemy. Hopelessly outnumbered, with no chance of survival, they went into battle, antennae twitching, and hacked madly at their foes until they were overpowered, dismembered and devoured.

Not wishing to see the carnage continue Robbie took a book from his satchel and stood it between the warring factions. The ants, confronted with the unknown, stopped. The forward scouts turned, perhaps in fear, or confusion, or perhaps simply seeking further orders, but the break in hostilities did not last very long. After a moment of chaos, the insects advanced upon each other again. Some moved around the book, some attempted to climb it. Both sides had the same goal: Destroy the enemy for the good of the colony.

Robbie hadn’t noticed his father appear behind him.

Ants, eh? he muttered, looking over the boy’s shoulder. I’m sure I’ve got something in the shed for ants.

Robbie watched him march purposefully down the garden and wondered what his father could possibly have that the ants might want.

Presently, he returned with a brass spray can. He gently shooed the boy away before pumping the handle several times and spraying the entire battlefield with the contents of the can.

As the mist cleared, Robbie edged gingerly forward to see the resulting carnage. The ants were no longer fighting. A few were trying desperately to cling to life, staggering around aimlessly. It was a futile struggle, and within seconds they joined their fallen comrades and foes, the black and the red lying together, warriors at last united, awaiting ant Valhalla.

Robbie turned to ask his father why, but he was already walking away, returning the weapon to its resting-place. Perhaps, thought the boy, this little taste of Armageddon had been a warning to the ant colonies not to make war here. The deaths of these soldiers must have been the price of peace. That must be it, he decided, because adults were wise.

By the end of the summer, however, his father had systematically slaughtered every ant in the garden...

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The blast woke him, hurling him the width of the trench. At first he curled up, panic-stricken, into a foetal position. He was sure that he had been hit. After a moment, however, he realised that the